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Giant Schnauzer

 

Giant Schnauzer Dog Breed

Aliases: Riesen Schnauzer, Munich Schnauzer, Russian Bear Schnauzer

Life Span: 12-15 years.
Litter Size: 5-8 puppies/litter
Group: Herding, AKC Working
Recognized By: CKC, FCI, AKC, UKC, ANKC, NKC, NZKC, APRI, ACR
Color: Giant Schnauzers come in two colors, solid black and salt and pepper.
Hair Length: Medium
Size: Extra Large
Shedding: Lite Shed
Male Height: 25-28inches
Male Weight: 80 and 100lbs
Female Height: 23-26inches
Female Weight: 60 and 80lbs
 General info courtesy of terrificpets.com. Additional information about this breed can be found on their website.

Thyroid Disease - High Risk

The Giant Schnauzer ranks #14 among all breeds for autoimmune thyroiditis prevalence. There is a high risk of obtaining a dog that will develop thyroid disease. For this reason you should make sure you, or your breeder, are testing all dogs before breeding.  It may even be a good idea to test dogs that you don't plan on breeding so that any instance of disease can be traced back to breeding pairs and eliminated.

 Rank Among Breeds  Number of Dogs Tested  Percent of Dogs With Disease
 #14  748  15.5%

You can download the full report (on all breeds) by the Michigan State University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health. Here

Other Health Problems

Some female Giants, if spayed too early may have inconsistency problems. This can be prevented by waiting until the dog is fully developed before spaying. Giants are prone to cancer, more than most breeds. They have a tendency for developing toe cancer, regular vet checks and proper care can help you catch the disease early. They also are at an increased risk of bloat because of their size; you can prevent this by feeding them small amounts at different times during the day. Epilepsy is another disease that is common for this breed, as well as hip dysplasia. Special care should be done to prevent joints from suffering damage in puppy hood, such as not allowing the dog to jump up, avoiding stairs and limiting running times until they are full developed.